Political Quotes

On the recordJuly 15, 2010
Mr. President, I strongly support the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010. The American people often are cynical, with good reason, about the success that powerful corporate interests have in trumping the interests and rights of everyday Americans, on Wall Street, in Congress and even on our Supreme Court. Backed by multimillions of dollars that ordinary Americans cannot match, the lobbying pressure that was sharply focused on trying to shape this bill at every step, including the conference, was almost without parallel. Yet the bill that emerged from conference truly reflects the Nation's interests in real Wall Street reform. This is a great, unheralded victory for the American people and one that should serve as an example again and again. The recent financial crisis clearly exposed several flaws in our current regulatory system. Many large Wall Street investment banks and insurance companies hid their shaky finances from stockholders and government regulators. Corporate executives saw their salaries rise to extreme heights, even as their companies were failing and seeking government assistance. Through it all, Federal regulatory agencies failed to provide the necessary oversight to rein in these reckless actions. If this crisis has taught us anything, it is that the look- the-other way, hands-off deregulatory policies that were in vogue in recent times can jeopardize not only private investments but our entire economy.…
Said by
Patrick Leahy
Democratic · Vermont

Share & report

More from Patrick Leahy

Mar 31, 2022

I ask for the yeas and nays. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second? There appears to be a sufficient second. The clerk will call the roll. The bill clerk called the roll. The result was announced--yeas 52, nays 48, as…

govinfo.gov
Mar 10, 2022

Madam President, I thank the Senator for clearly laying out the Senate's intent for the ongoing administration of this program--I agree. I would like to ask the Senator from Washington if she agrees as well?

govinfo.gov
Feb 17, 2022

Mr. President, I had just spoken about this, but it is imperative that we take up and pass H.R. 6617; that is the Further Additional Extending Government Funding Act. Of course, we call it the CR. I say this because the bill will keep the…

govinfo.gov
Jun 16, 2022

Mr. President, the passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, or PACT Act, is an example of what can happen when the Congress puts aside partisanship and comes…

govinfo.gov

Other voices in this conversation